6 Before 1965, the Indonesian Government sent academicians, mainly STEM graduates, to study in Eastern Europe. After the communist uprising, all these graduates were forced to opt for low-grade jobs to carry on living with no possibility of returning to their country.

Imagine leaving your country for studies and never getting a choice to come back. Before 1965, the Indonesian Government decided to send academicians, mainly STEM graduates, to study in Eastern Europe. But everything changed after 30 September 1965. After the communist uprising, the Indonesian government decided to revoke their citizenship and declare them as stateless.

The government banned those graduates from returning to their country. They declared that if anyone insisted on returning, they could torture and murder them. All the nuclear physicists, engineers, medical students, and Ph.D. graduates were left with no choice. They only had an option to opt for low-grade jobs to lead their lives with no possibility or hope of returning to their home country. (source)

7 An ancient king of Siam would give white elephants as a royal gift to those people whom he found irritating or to his enemies. He used to get entertained by watching the recipient’s failing efforts to care for such a royal gift. The white elephant is sacred and eventually, economies have failed to properly care for a royal gift like this.

An ancient king of Siam, now known as Thailand, would give a white elephant to his enemies or the people whom he finds irritating or displeased. Now people will ask what’s wrong with this. A white elephant is a rare and sacred animal because of its color which can not be used in wars. It needs to be treated with special care. Feeding them costs much more.

The recipient of the gift can not deny the gift and have to take care of the gift because if they don’t do so, they will appear disrespectful to their monarch. Hence, they are saddled with the financial burden of a sacred white elephant. The king of Siam used to get entertained watching the recipient of the white elephant failing efforts to care for such a royal gift.

Remember, a white elephant is not a gift. (source)

8 In 1519, a Spanish explorer, Cortez, with his 500 soldiers wanted to seize the treasure of the 600-year-old empire of the Aztecs. He was greatly outnumbered. Some of his soldiers deserted in ships. He wanted the rest of his men to be truly committed to him, so he ordered them to burn the ships. Then, there was no other option than to defeat the Aztecs. The idea was insane, but it worked.

We have come across many different kinds of war strategies, but this one is insane. In 1519, a Spanish explorer named Hernando Cortez wanted to capture the treasure of the Aztecs. He took 500 soldiers, 100 sailors, and 11 ships to conquer the Aztecs, a 600-year-old empire. Despite having a large army, he was outnumbered by the warriors of the huge and powerful empire.

Some of his men were not sure of success, so they managed to escape taking some of his ships. He wanted loyalty from the rest of his remaining men, so he burned all his remaining ships so there will be no option but to conquer the Aztecs.

His men resisted and asked how they would go home, to which Cortez said “We will surely go home but in their ships.” By doing this, the path of Cortez was clear and he got a 100% commitment from his men. The spirit of Cortez’s soldiers was raised to another level, and they finally succeeded to conquer an undefeatable 600-year-old empire. (source)

9 In 1440, a dinner was organized by the Lord Chancellor, Sir Willian Chrichton, where a 16-year-old Willian Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas, and his younger brother were invited for dinner with ten-year-old King James II of Scotland. While they were eating, a symbol of death, a black bull’s head, was brought in and placed before the earl. Both of the brothers were dragged out of the castle and given a mock trial then beheaded. It was later known as “The Black Dinner.”

In 1437, ten-year-old James became the King of Scotland after his father was murdered. The mother of James organized the murder of the clan who murdered her husband. In 1440, two main fighting factions were slaughtered who were fighting for the control of the boy king.

The Lord Chancellor, Sir Willian Chrichton, organized a dinner. He arranged the meeting with the rivals. Sixteen-year-old William Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas, and his younger brother were invited to dinner with King James. While they were eating, a black bull’s head, a symbol of death, was placed before the Earl.

Then, both of the brothers were dragged out of Castle Hill. They were given a mock trial and beheaded. The dinner was later called “The Black Dinner” from which James Douglas and his son profited.(source)

10 In the 1990s, people were living near swamps in southern Iraq. Their agriculture, economy, and lives were dependent upon the swamps. They were not the supporters of Hussein’s regime, so, they conducted a protest march to Baghdad. Meanwhile, when they were moving towards the capital, Saddam Hussein took some excavators and drained the whole swamp.

The draining of Mesopotamian Marshes in Iraq occurred between the 1950s and 1990s. Saddam Hussein destroyed the marshes as an act of repression against the Marsh Arabs. The people living near the marshes were dependent on them for their lives, agriculture, and their economy.

They were not very fond of Saddam Hussein’s regime, so they decided to protest him with a march on Baghdad. When they were moving towards the capital. Saddam Hussein took some excavators and drained out the whole swamp in aggression.(source)